I see the movie “Suckerpunch” is available on (3)DVDs and its format is listed as “Blu-ray/DVD”, and it also says its edition is “Extended Cut, includes Digital Copy”.
As far as I know, all Blu-ray is marketed on DVDs, so does this description mean that there is a “Blu-ray” version on the discs AND a standard “DVD” version, or just the Blu-ray version?
Will this DVD (not the Digital Copy) play back on a standard DVD player or computer or only on a Blu-ray player?
I assume that the “Digital Copy” will play back on a computer? Is this usually in a quality that the standard DVD version would be in, or an HD version like the Blu-ray would be?
Blu-ray (BD) discs are not the same as DVD discs; BDs have approximately five times the data-storage capacity as DVDs, and are read with a blue laser rather than a red laser. A BD cannot be read in a DVD player.
The product may include two separate movie discs, one in BD format and one in DVD format, plus a third disc that contains a copy of the movie as a single computer video file. Actual BD and DVD movie discs contain many files in a specified format.
IME with other movies, it will contain a blu-ray disk and a DVD disk (playable in a standard DVD player) of the movie. It may or may not contain a 3rd disk with a digital copy that you can load to your PC/MAC, and then move to an ipod or other device.
I say may or may not, because we’ve gotten some (Harry Potter movies I think) that only included a code & a website, which would download the movie to your PC. The ones that had a disk also had a code & website which you had to access before it would transfer the movie to your PC.
I am very upset. My wife went to the trouble of getting me this set for my birthday and it’s adorned with intentionally misleading advertising all over it. In the blue banner at the top it says, “Blu-Ray * DVD * Digital Copy” with the separating dots clearly indicating that it is supposed to be read as 3 different formats. In addition there is a silver sticker which says “HBO Select * 3 Ways To Watch * Blu-Ray | DVD | Digital Copy” Which clearly erases any lame excuse that it wasn’t saying there are 3 formats inclosed. Even though it clearly states that this will play in your DVD player - IT WILL NOT. This product is intentionally packaged in a misleading manner to encourage consumers to purchase it and then force them to go out and purchase a Blu-Ray player. It’s called BAIT & SWITCH people, and it’s against the law. I hope someone reams them out good. I for one am done with HBO.
Are you quite sure there isn’t another disk in the box that will play on your DVD player? Maybe you got a faulty packaging? I once received a LOTR Two Towers Special Extended Edition without the movie discs - it had the two extras discs twice. Amazon exchanged it without a problem.
Earlier today I wrote a scathing review and have discovered I am at fault. Indeed, inside the 'Blu-ray * DVD * Digital Copy" version of GAME OF THRONES is a wafer thin envelope with 2 DVD discs. These WILL play on a standard DVD player. They are double-sided and contain all 10 episodes for Season 1. I would like to leave my original post up, as these newer formatting issues can be confusing. I will note that there is nothing but the episodes on these DVDs. If you want ANY special features, you must buy the 5 disc DVD version, which runs for about $5 less than the Blu-ray. Thank you for your patience and understanding. My apologies to HBO and anyone else I may have slighted in my furor.
While BluRay and DVD are physically distinct formats and can’t be combined on a single disc, I have seen single discs that contain both the DVD and digital copies of a movie.
I once bought a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 on BluRay, but it actually had Part 2 on the disc (All art, on the case and on the disc, says Part 1). I also frequently get a BluRay that includes the DVD version, and because of the inconsistent way they arrange them in a case will accidentally play the DVD disc. I usually don’t even notice, which just proves how unnecessary HD really is.
Anyway, my point is that the packaging of these absurd multi-disc collections can be as confusing and misleading as sambson says, and I can empathise.
To be honest, I don’t really see the point in selling a DVD and a Blu-Ray together. If you have a Blu-Ray player, why would you want a DVD on top? Maybe so you can play it in your bedroom. Maybe it’s for people on the fence, about to buy a Blu-Ray player? These sets are usually fairly expensive, much more than the Blu-Ray version by itself, so there must be a point, I guess.
For exactly that reason. Plus playing it in the car, playing it in the basement, etc. Parents with kids likely find all manner of reasons to have multiple formats handy.
And there’s your point right there. Including the extra disc costs ‘em maybe 50 cents, but they can charge $5-10 more for the sale. And collectors won’t buy anything but the top o’ the line set, which means the most expensive one. So, might as well ratchet up the price.
The typical excuse is that most in-car players are DVD only. (Anyone heard of in-car BluRay player?) this is why Disney typically produces the BR+DVD versions for movies that back seat passengers want to watch.
If you have a Blu-Ray player, odds are it does upconvert on a DVD - more than just playing a 480i signal, it recodes and tries to enhance the picture to 1080p. Plus, as mentioned, often the DVD has only the movie so it does not have to be as heavily compressed to fit extras on the same disk. If so, it will have more information meaning the upconvert will be good.
(I’d love to see a comparison between a DVD-only version and a DVD-which-was-included-with-BluRay movie files size.)
the digital copy - usually means you download a file using the code provided in the box. I assume it embeds this code in the movie so they could track it if it got into the “wild”; but it will play on many diverse digital devices like PCs and iPads.
Or it proves you need to see the optometrist I’ve done the same, and have always noticed something was wrong in the first 5 minutes - the 480p-1080p upconversion introduces artifacts that you never see on a blu-ray of a recent movie.
And I buy the Blu-ray/DVD combos for the exact reasons stated above - so I can watch them on the laptop, or the bedroom, or the kids can watch them in the car. Most new releases only come out in a combo anyway - it’s generally older movies that get released as a solo blu-ray disk.
And don’t even get me started on 3D/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital copy.
I’d have no problem with them giving people the option of buying a combo pack but they often make it the only available format. So it’s just greed - forcing customers to buy something they don’t want in order to get something they do.
The only advantage is that you often see these movies getting dumped at pawn shops and flea markets. People sell the format they don’t want and you can pick up a cheap used copy that’s never been watched.
That’s not true; while they are different formats read with different lasers, it is possible to put both on what’s called a “flipper disc”; these were introduced by Universal in 2009. I don’t know if they’ve kept on with it, though. (I have seen it asserted that this format is really a DVD glued to the back of a Blu Ray disc, but I’ve never seen a flipper disc, and I have a hard time believing that such a thing would work)
To expand on what others have said: DVD players & discs essentially replaced VCRs and VHS tapes. They achieved the same ubiquitous universal market penetration that VCRs did (only a lot faster). They almost overnight went from being a high-end, premium videophile component to an essentially disposable mass-produced commodity.
Blu-ray on the other hand hasn’t reached this level (and won’t). It’s not because of any deficiencies in Blu-ray technology, but simply because streaming, on-demand HD video via high speed internet connections and cable/satellite boxes (usually also with built-in DVRs) became a viable competing ‘format’ not long after Blu-ray came out (because of this Blu-ray will be the last physical video format made). Consequently Blu-ray players & discs have retained some of that ‘premium’ component aspect. While most people will have a DVD player for every room/TV in the house most will only have one Blu-ray player connected to their biggest flat screen in their living room. So anyone willing to spend the money to own a physical HD disc does have a practical use for the lesser SD DVD disc too (as said, playing in cars, laptops, other rooms etc.)
I think it’s also a factor that VHS was essentially breaking new ground. Previous formats like Laserdisc never became common place. VHS was the format that made watching movies at home a common experience. So all DVD had to do was take over that existing market.
You’ll never convince it’s anything other than greed.
It’s like a publisher only selling a book in a “combo” edition where you have to buy both the hardcover and paperback - and claiming it’s for the convenience of readers so they can read the hardcover at home and carry the paperback around with them.
There probably are some people who do that. So sell both paperbacks and hardcovers and let the people who want both, buy both. But don’t force that choice on them. BluRays and DVD’s should be sold separately and the people who happen to want both can buy them that way - and the rest of us don’t.
I’ve done the same, and have always noticed something was wrong in the first 5 minutes - the 480p-1080p upconversion introduces artifacts that you never see on a blu-ray of a recent movie.